Ap Psych. - Mods. 11-16 Flshcrds.

Front 1

sensation

Back 1

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our enivronment.

Front 2

perception

Back 2

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory informaiton, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Front 3

bottom-up processing

Back 3

analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to thte brain's integraiton of sensory information

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top-down processing

Back 4

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

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psychophysics

Back 5

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.

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absolute threshold

Back 6

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus fifty percento f the time.

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signal detection theory

Back 7

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faitnt stimulus, ("signal"), amid background stimulation, ("noise"). Assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue.

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subliminal

Back 8

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Front 9

difference threshold

Back 9

the miminum difference between two stimuli required for etection fifty percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference.

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Weber's law

Back 10

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage, (rather than a constant amount).

Front 11

sensory adaptation

Back 11

diminished sensitiviyt as a consequencer of constant stimulation.

Front 12

selective attention

Back 12

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect.

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transduction

Back 13

converssion of one form of energy into another, in sensation, the transofrming of stimulus energies into neural iimpusles

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wavelength

Back 14

the distance fomr the peak of noe light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetics wavelengths vary form the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

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hue

Back 15

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of bllight; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forrth

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intensity

Back 16

the amount of energy in a light or soundw ave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude

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pupil

Back 17

the adjustable opening in the center of the eyes through which light enters.

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iris

Back 18

a ring of muslc etissue that forms the coored portion of the eyes around the puli and cotnrol sthe size of the pupil opening

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lens

Back 19

the transparent structure behind the puil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

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accommodation

Back 20

the process by which the eyes' lens hanges shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

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retina

Back 21

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eyes, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

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acuity

Back 22

the sharpness of vision.

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nearsightedness

Back 23

a condition in which nearby objets are seen more clearly than distant objects, because distant obejcts focus in front of the retina

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rods

Back 24

retinal receptors that detect black, which, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.

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cones

Back 25

receptors cells that are concentrated near the center of hte retina and tat function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

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optic nerve

Back 26

the nerve that carries neural impulses from teh eyes to the brain

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blind spot

Back 27

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eyes, creating a "blind" spot, because no receptor cells are located there.

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fovea

Back 28

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

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feature detectors

Back 29

enrve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

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parallel processing

Back 30

the processing of several aspets of a probelem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including visions. Contrasts with the step-by-step, (serial), processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving

Front 31

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

Back 31

the theory that the retana contains three different color receptors - one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color.

Front 32

opponent-process theory

Back 32

the theory that opposing retinal processes, (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black), enable color visions. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

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color constancy

Back 33

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelnegsht reflected by the object.

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adutiion

Back 34

teh sense of hearing

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frequency

Back 35

the numer of complete wavelenghts that pass a point in a given time, (for example, per second).

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pitch

Back 36

a tone's highenss or lowness; depends on frequency

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middle ear

Back 37

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones, (hammer, anvil, and stirrup), that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.

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iner ear

Back 38

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochela, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

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cochlea

Back 39

a coiled, bony, fluid-fille dtube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.

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place theory

Back 40

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cohclea's membrane is stimulated

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frequency theory

Back 41

in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequnency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

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conduction hearing loss

Back 42

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

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sensorineural hearing loss

Back 43

hearin gloss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptors cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

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gate-control theory

Back 44

the theory tha the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in learge fibers or information coming from the brain

Front 45

sensory interaction

Back 45

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

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kinesthesis

Back 46

the system for sensing hte pssition and movement of individual body parts

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vestibular sense

Back 47

the sense of body movement adn position, including the sense of balance

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visulal capture

Back 48

the tendency for vision to dominate the other senses.

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gestalt

Back 49

an organized whole, Gestalt psychologists emphaize our tendency ot integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

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figure-ground

Back 50

the organization of the visula field into objects, (the figures), tha stand out from their surroundings, (the ground).

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grouping

Back 51

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

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depth perception

Back 52

teh ability to see objects in three dimensions although the image htat strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.

Front 53

visual cliff

Back 53

a laboratory device for testing depth preception in infants and young animals.

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binocular cues

Back 54

depth cues, such as retanal disparity and convergence that depend on the use of two eyes.

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monocular cues

Back 55

distnace cues, such as linear perspective an doverlap, available to either eyes alone.

Front 56

retinal disparity

Back 56

a binocular cue for perceiving depth: By comparing images from the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity, (difference), between teh two images, the close the object

Front 57

convergence

Back 57

a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object.

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phi phenomenon

Back 58

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights lblink on and off in succession.

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perceptual constancy

Back 59

perceiving objects as unchanging, (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size), even as illumination and retainal images change.

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perceptual adaption

Back 60

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

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human factors psychology

Back 61

a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be adapted to human behaviors.

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extrasensory perception, (ESP)

Back 62

the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input. Said to include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.

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parapsychology

Back 63

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis